Cat killer apprehended by Little Falls Police Department

Thursday

Oct 25, 2007 at 12:01 AM

After several reports of pets gone missing, Officer Michael Simonelli of the Little Falls Police Department did some investigating, and arrested at least one man in sadistic incidents too cruel and gruesome for police to disclose to the public.

Dana C. Silano

After several reports of pets gone missing, Officer Michael Simonelli of the Little Falls Police Department did some investigating, and arrested at least one man in sadistic incidents too cruel and gruesome for police to disclose to the public.

Assistant Chief Michael Masi said that 22-year-old Mark Albert Beacraft of Little Falls was arrested on October 23, after Simonelli received information regarding a cat being killed in the bandstand on Southern Avenue.

“He was doing a neighborhood canvass on a vandalism complaint,” Masi said, “and received information from an anonymous source that Beacraft had killed a cat in the bandstand. He went there and found a significant amount of blood stain on the floor of the bandstand. He conducted an interview with Beacraft and was able to get an admission that he in fact killed the cat and the details surrounding how he went about it.”

Masi said that the details of the murder are not being disclosed because of the brutality and torture involved.

He said that the body of the cat involved in the case had been disposed of in the canal, and that the owner of the cat in unknown at this time.

Because of pending criminal action, Masi could not disclose why Beacraft said he partook in such formidable and terrible activity. The suspect is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, an unclassified felony under the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law. He was released on appearance tickets to return to city court on October 30. Additional charges are pending.

Beacraft is also the suspect in several other missing cat cases, but is not the only suspect.

“A couple neighbors in that vicinity have reported numerous missing cats,” Masi said. “The case Beacraft was arrested for had been investigated for about a week. The other incidents have been over the past month or so. There is another person of interest in separate unrelated incidents.”

Other feline-abusive tactics have not gone unnoticed on the south side, Masi said. The other person of interest is accused of shooting cats with a BB gun. Because of the status of the case, the name will not be released at this time.